American Autumn Shishapangma Expedition 2005: My cat knows I'm leaving

Sunset on Shishapangma from Base Camp

Heading outside; be back in a few months -- September 3

My cat knows I'm leaving. Of course. He knew it as I started to assemble piles of gear in my room: the technical section including the new overboots covering the broken-in double boots, the mountain clothing section with my favorite Schoeller pants and wind shirt all neatly rolled up, the fluffy down section with the big orange down coat and super warm borrowed sleeping bag covering half of the bed, the electronic section with radios, cameras, chargers, and lenses lined up, and then there was Moosey.

My kitty Zuri sometimes sat amidst the boots and ice axes, sometimes gave me his talk as I packed the jerkey, sometimes enticed me to run down the hall and play with him, interrupting my third repacking of the duffels to balance the weight, and sometimes curled next to me as I re-checked my master spreadsheet list making sure I was not forgetting anything. Zuri is now asleep, relaxed.

The house is clean. The bills are paid for two months. I have said goodbye to my close friends. The planning is complete (after all I can always finish reading the Tibet guidebook and manual to the video camera on the plane). It is time to leave Boulder and head to those mountains whose slopes I have seen next to my computer screen every day for months, those beautiful peaks that call me to come experience their solitude, their challenge, their moods, and in doing so learn more about myself, my team, and the world. It is time for the adventure to begin! -Val

Updates

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